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Monday, February 22, 2010

Homemaking & Blog Changes

Despite being at page 348/350 in edits I took today off writing. In that last gasp of Drive I need to include a scene which adds a twist to the ending, its going to have to be short and snappy and not make the reader roll their eyes and wish that the book was over already. I find the best way to approach tricky ones like this is to leave it for a couple of days and then they just arrives, on their own.

I'm tired today (why? because I was reading my uni texts last night and got all excited about my course and couldn't sleep. sigh) and we have a ridiculously busy couple of weeks ahead, so I've spent today getting organised, making menu plans, washing, and all those sort of home-making jobs.

Its also frickin HOT again. So cross. I had decided that hot weather was over and planted lettuces, which will now turn bitter and bolt to seed. Whhhy OH WHY? SIGH. I will have lettuce. Oh yes. This shall not defeat me. Rargh.

It was green and gold day at school today. For the winter olympics or something. It is hard to describe how a pair so cute can also be so evil. But trust me, they are.

Anyhoo, speaking of homemaking, I've been devouring http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/. There is such a lot Rhonda is doing that I either already do myself or want to do. I talk about it here but in a pretty random and haphazard way. So I thought I'd get a bit more organised, keep the usual ranting and vegetable happy snaps but include a bit more depth.

Last year was an annus horribilius for hubby and I, what with him having no job and all the crud that goes with that, like a shitload of debt. However, as I've said, a lot of positives came out of that year as well, having hubby at home and the improvements in our relationship and the feeling of a solid foundation beneath us.

Now that he is back at work though, I feel like those positives are slipping and that the lessons we learned are being swiftly forgotten. We really don't want this to happen. I like living simply, even though its sometimes hard, and now that we have the chooks I can't describe the really confident feeling I get knowing that we can provide our own food from our own little suburban block - or will be able to once they start laying eggs and the weather stops KILLING MY LETTUCES.

So, I thought I'd blog more about how we're keeping it simple, how we're feeling about it, what works and what doesn't, and what we just can't live without (hint: dishwasher).

I also 'follow' Rhonda's blog, she is a great read. My main problem is fitting everything into my day. So much I want to do! I'm looking forward to your future 'keeping it simple' posts. Thanks for sharing Caitlyn.

With lettuces and greens for hot weather try planting less but more often, keep in morning sun only or filtered light, grow them in potswater frequently. Grow lots of other green things too, like chards (silver beets, beetroot for leaves, chinese vegies, radishes, cresses, even brasicas like Kale.. you can eat the young leaves, rocket and spinach also grow fast in summer but seeds are big and fun for kids too.

With lettuces and greens for hot weather try planting less but more often, keep in morning sun only or filtered light, grow them in potswater frequently. Grow lots of other green things too, like chards (silver beets, beetroot for leaves, chinese vegies, radishes, cresses, even brasicas like Kale.. you can eat the young leaves, rocket and spinach also grow fast in summer but seeds are big and fun for kids too.